


Inconveniently Naked

by OldTsuki



Series: Inconveniently [3]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Crystal Lake, F/F, F/M, Fluff with a side of plot, Post-Season 2, Serpent Betty, Serpent King Jughead, Skinny Dipping, Summer Vacation, Sweet Pea is still skeptical, background choni, let's be real it's just fluff, okay so there's not much plot, riverdale summer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-12
Updated: 2018-06-12
Packaged: 2019-05-20 13:31:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14895512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OldTsuki/pseuds/OldTsuki
Summary: After Season 2, the Serpents are still on their extended camp out. As a result of some bickering and bantering, the teen Serpents decide to go skinny dipping at Crystal Lake. It's just generally a good time. Not much angst in these waters.Part 3 of the Southside Showcase challenge, and my series "Inconveniently". Written for Day 3: Crystal Lake.





	Inconveniently Naked

**Author's Note:**

> Why is Sweet Pea always in opposition to everything Jughead does? Because he's the Tall Boy to Jughead's FP, clearly. Not that I ever think he'd betray Jughead like Tall Boy, but I definitely get that right-hand-man, literary foil vibe from him. And let's be honest, the writers on this show aren't particularly subtle about that sort of thing. Didn't it feel like his attack of Betty during the Swords and Serpents meeting in S2 was fairly arbitrary? Like they just needed someone to object during the whole co-President election cycle, for the drama? And Sweet Pea was there, conveniently in need of screen time? So my head canon for that is that he doesn't approve of Betty, on principle, just like he was offended when Jughead wasn't immediately his bestie after transferring to Southside High.

Sweet Pea had been irritating Jughead all morning, and he was just about ready to do something about it. It began with Sweet Pea and Fangs catching Jughead outside the tent he had originally been sharing with his dad, but mostly now shared with his girlfriend. Betty and Cheryl were occupied in the front seat of Cheryl’s car, carefully applying their makeup. Fangs had the decency to look uncomfortable, but Sweet Pea just came out and said it.

“So when did it become okay for you to let people become Serpents without proving themselves?” he asked, glaring down at Jughead.

It shouldn’t have surprised him, but he found the backlash annoying nonetheless. Jughead took a step toward his friend, noticing the way that Fangs maneuvered himself to the side in case a fight broke out between them. Glaring and holding his ground, he said, “When all your hides became my problem, Sweet Pea.”

He cast a look over at Betty, who was carefully brushing mascara over her eyes. Next to her, Cheryl was touching up her signature blood-red lipstick. Of course, Sweet Pea wasn’t saying anything about _her_. He’d always had something against Betty, it seemed.

Fangs put his hand on Sweet Pea’s arm, trying to nonverbally hold him back. Still, he took another step toward Jughead, choking even more of the space out from between them.

“I don’t think she’s shown us that she’s really a Serpent,” he growled, muscles tensing. “She’s just a northside princess, _slumming it_.”

Jughead unconsciously curled his hands into fists. If he’d gotten any closer to Sweet Pea, their chests would have been touching. Luckily for them both, Fangs chose that moment to insert his shoulder between them. He glanced at the other dark-haired teen with unfocused rage for a moment, before recalling himself and mentally having a breath. It seemed like Sweet Pea knew exactly what to do to make Jughead feel completely unhinged. That wasn't the sort of person he wanted to be, though. Jughead looked up at Sweet Pea with a slightly more leveled head, thanks to Fangs’ intervention.

“Are you trying to get me to fight?” he asked, genuinely feeling like he was flashing back to the first interactions they’d shared at Southside High. “I’ve paid my price to be here, and so has Betty. She’s helped us out so many times, maybe in ways that you’re too thick to realize. Back off.”

Shocking them both, Fangs spoke next. They both turned physically to regard him, allowing even more space to grow in the middle of their pissing contest. “Jug, he’s got a point. Toni had to go through initiation. Why shouldn’t Betty?”

He nearly threw his hands into the air in exasperation. “She’s _done_ it, or did you forget? When my dad came back from prison. The only person here that hasn’t gone through an initiation is Cheryl Blossom, so why aren’t you stirring up shit about her?”

Sweet Pea paled a bit, glancing over at the car. Cheryl was carefully tucking locks of red hair behind her ears, far enough away that she couldn’t hear their conversation. Waiting for his response, Jughead forced his fists to uncurl. Evidently, Sweet Pea hadn’t completely thought this through before he’d gotten confrontational about it. Most of the Serpents, everyone there included, owed Cheryl their lives--figuratively, at least, since the RPD probably would have taken most of them into custody. They at least owed her for keeping them out of jail. But who knew if Sheriff Minetta’s men would have accidentally shot a few people for _resisting_?

A petite, pink-haired Serpent approached them before Sweet Pea could respond. All three boys looked over, nodding in greeting as she glanced up at each of their faces. “What’s going on here?” she asked, looking from Sweet Pea to Jughead. “Why do you two look like you’re about to tear each other’s throats out again?”

Jughead snorted, shaking his head in response to her question. “Sweet Pea just forgot that it’s not 1975 any more, Toni. He was asking me why I let Cheryl in without making her do the Serpent Dance.”

In a flash, Toni’s fist collided with Sweet Pea’s diaphragm. He wheezed, leaning forward reflexively in response to the blow. Glaring up at him, she snarled, “What the fuck? Do I have to rip off your balls and feed them to you?”

He shook his head, taking an unconscious step backward. “I was asking about Betty Cooper,” he said, glaring at Jughead. “I didn’t say anything about Cheryl.”

“Exactly,” Jughead snapped with fresh irritation. “Bring it up again, and I’ll do what Toni said she’d do to you.”

He raised his hands in surrender, pressing his lips together. “Fine,” Sweet Pea agreed. “But if you start letting people like Archie Andrews in without teaching them what being a Serpent means, you’re going to have a civil war on your hands.”

Jughead rolled his eyes. “Please,” he replied. “Archie looks ridiculous in leather.”

Toni laughed, breaking the tension between them. Fangs and Sweet Pea also reacted to the joke, grinning just as Cheryl walked up. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and moved to Toni’s side, fluidly slipping her arm around the smaller Serpent’s waist and pulling her close. “What’s happening today, belly crawlers?” She asked, infusing the derogatory term with a sickly-sweet tone of affection.

With a huge and devious grin, Toni said, “Actually, I was going to ask the boys if they wanted to go swimming with us.”

Jughead raised his eyebrows. “Swimming?” he repeated, slightly confused. “It’s not like we can get into the school right now, it’s summer break.”

Cheryl rolled her eyes at him. “Oh, ye of little imagination. There are other places to swim than Riverdale High’s drab little athletic pool.”

Sweet Pea was nodding in agreement. “Crystal Lake,” he said, smiling. “I had nothing to do today, I’m in.”

Fangs nodded too and said, “Sounds like fun.”

Cheryl’s smile turned downright wicked as they voiced their agreement. “Let’s make this interesting, then. It’s a perfect chance for you guys to find out who’s the best snake once and for all,” she announced, raising her index finger to silence them. “At the lake, there will be no clothes allowed.”

Jughead couldn’t help rolling his eyes in response to her challenge. Betty walked up and joined them just as he said, “Don’t be so juvenile.”

She frowned and said, “About what, Jug?”

Cheryl tilted her head and smiled. “Sweet cousin, it seems that your beau--and our intrepid leader--is afraid to do a little skinny dipping at the lake. Care to tell all of us why that might be?”

He felt momentarily like he’d been set on fire, such a strong wave of frustration washed through him. Jughead glared, opening his mouth to defend himself, but snapped it shut as Betty beat him to it.

“I’m not sure why you want to see my boyfriend naked, Cheryl,” she said sweetly, echoing Cheryl’s earlier move and tilting her head, “but I’m sure Jughead was just being modest. Of course we’ll go, if it means so much to you.”

He might have gotten whiplash from how quickly he turned to look at her. Jughead kept his mouth closed, at least, though he was tempted to let his jaw drop. Betty turned her sweet smile toward him, slipping her hand into his. He’d begun to protest because he’d assumed that she wouldn’t want to have anything to do with this sort of thing, but Betty had just spoken for both of them when she’d accepted Cheryl’s proposal. And if she was okay with it, then he really had nothing to be upset about. If Sweet Pea looked at his girlfriend too long, it would give Jughead a good excuse to hit him a lot harder than Toni had.

Since they'd been poking around town for stories to put in the Register all summer, they'd recently had a relatively busy couple of days. Jughead had been preoccupied interviewing Farmer McGinty for a feature piece about the regulations of corporate meat companies over chicken breeding, and Betty had been at the office editing their most recent spread. That was why this idea felt like such a welcome break--despite working technically for themselves, they'd been putting in overtime to keep the town's only official source of journalism afloat in the absence of the Coopers.

They grabbed a few towels from the clothes lines strung around their campsite, walking as a group down the trail that lead to the lake. Jughead kept his hand intertwined with Betty’s, feeling more and more relaxed as they talked with their friends. There was no one else out in the woods, that they could see. If Dilton Doiley and his scouts happened to see a group of stark-naked teenagers skinny dipping in the lake, well...maybe he’d make it an educational moment for them.

When they reached the clearing that the trail opened to, Betty and Cheryl briefly discussed the best place to keep their clothes. Everyone settled on a fallen log that was well within view of the water. Jughead couldn't help envisioning the afternoon playing out like a romantic comedy, where some passerby would loot all their leather jackets, denim, and flannel, and leave them to struggle in naked shame through the woods and back to camp. Or a horror movie, with a hockey-masked serial killer taking them by surprise one by one--which seemed somewhat more likely in Riverdale.

Everyone began to shuck off shoes, unbutton buttons, and unzip zippers. Suddenly, Jughead was painfully aware that he was sixteen years old. Many things might have happened to mess up his childhood and force him to mature beyond his years, but getting naked in front of a group of his closest friends was an experience that he found instantly humbling. Fighting against his body to keep himself from blushing, he stripped down to his boxers and glanced over his shoulder.

He got an eyeful of Sweet Pea’s derriere before he ran into the water, howling. “Fuck, it’s cold!” he shouted, once his body was fully submerged.

Toni was laughing. “Sure, Sweet Pea. It’s _cold_.”

He flipped her off with both hands. “Come in and see for yourself, TT!”

She pulled her shirt over her head, revealing that she’d omitted wearing a bra. Hooking her thumbs into her panties, she glanced over her shoulder at Cheryl as she slid them down. Jughead turned away quickly, feeling his cheeks burn as he inadvertently saw their intimate exchange of looks.

Splashes and swearing told him that Toni had joined Sweet Pea in the water. Jughead looked over at Betty, who was still mostly clothed. Frowning a bit, he said quietly, “We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”

Her mouth curled up at one corner and she said, “It’s okay, Jug. I’m just gathering my courage.”

Fangs went next, the glistening scars from his recent brush with death glaring out from his chest in sharp contrast to the rest of his skin. Seeing the new scars on his friend reminded Jughead of his own recently acquired badges of honor. His arm twinged in phantom pain, though it had finished healing a few weeks ago.

Behind him, Cheryl cleared her throat. “Looks like you’re even softer than I thought,” she said, her tone hardly anything but malicious. “What are you waiting for, Serpent King?”

He cringed at the title, looking over his shoulder at her. Unsurprisingly, she was already unabashedly in her birthday suit, a hand on one hip and another challenge in her gaze. Muttering, Jughead said, “Don’t call me that.” He might prefer it if people suddenly started using the name on his birth certificate, he decided, as long as they stopped using the title that made him feel like the villain in a fantasy series.

Cheryl laughed lightly and joined the others in the water, leaving Jughead and Betty on the shore. “Not surprisingly, Sandra Dee and Danny Zuko are the last to join the fun,” she called.

Toni’s voice followed, saying, “Betty was the one who suggested doing this, Jughead, so stop being shy and get in the damn water.”

He looked over at his girlfriend, unable to hide his shocked expression. She smiled meekly, shrugging her shoulders. “The forecast said it was going to be hot today,” she said, by way of explanation.

“Skinny dipping?” Jughead hissed, so the others wouldn’t hear. He dropped his hat onto the pile of his clothes and made sure it didn’t land in the dirt. To prevent them from teasing any more, he grabbed the fabric on either side of his hips. Keeping eye contact with Betty, he pulled down his boxers and backed into the water, wondering why she had hesitated so long if this had all been her bright idea.

Cheryl splashed his back, sending an icy wave unexpectedly over his shoulders. Jughead yelped in surprise, turning and splashing her back.

“Come on, Betty! It’s only a little icy,” Toni called, laughing at her own joke. Jughead and the others looked over at her expectantly, watching to see if she was going to join them. Betty smiled brightly and began to slowly draw her shirt over her head.

She was wearing the buttercream-yellow bra that he liked, with the polka dots and the little bow in the middle. Jughead only let himself look for a minute, though he felt like the chilly water would definitely provide enough assistance in obscuring the effect she usually had on him. Glancing up again, he saw her slowly wriggling her way out of her tight skinny jeans.

As she slid the jeans over her hips, Jughead immediately noticed something he’d never seen on his girlfriend before. A snake curled over her outer thigh, twisting on itself to form the iconic “S” that all of the Southside Serpents represented. How she'd managed to keep it hidden when they were practically living in the same tent, Jughead had no idea. He quickly recalled that she'd been wearing sweatpants and skirts for a few days, loose enough that they wouldn't irritate the fresh patch of skin. 

Fangs whistled, but stopped immediately when he got a sharp look from Jughead. Betty unhooked her bra and added it to the pile of clothes, slipping daintily out of her matching panties. She stepped carefully into the water, wincing at the temperature.

“Shit, it’s cold,” she breathed, her arms curling automatically around herself. She looked like Botticelli’s fucking Birth of Venus, and he loved her so much it hurt.

Once she’d gotten into the water, Jughead chivalrously pulled her toward him to preserve their warmth. With Cheryl and Toni cuddling similarly nearby, that left Fangs and Sweet Pea isolated in the water. Neither looked too happy about that situation, either.

Which was probably why Sweet Pea said, “Let’s see how fast you can swim, Jug.”

He groaned audibly. “Does everything always have to be a fucking contest with you, Sweet Pea?”

His friend just grinned in response. “Scared you’ll lose?” he asked.

Betty glanced up at him, turning in his arms for a clear look. Jughead glanced down at her. “Don’t you dare volunteer me, Betty,” he grumbled. Then, lightening his tone so that only she could hear, he added, “I love it.”

She smiled brightly, looking momentarily like she did when he’d nominated her for Student Body President in the fifth grade. Jughead couldn’t help returning her infectious enthusiasm with a smile of his own. Betty said quietly, “I love you, Jug. I just wanted to show everybody, since they’ve been giving you shit about me.”

He dipped his head to lightly kiss the side of her face, next to her ear. Turning minutely, he said, “You’re perfect, Betty. I love you more than anything.”

She was about to respond when they were both splashed. Sputtering, he looked over at Sweet Pea.

“Come on, Jug, save it for later,” he said, before Jughead could curse at him. Gesturing, he turned and began swimming quickly toward the center of the lake. Now was the moment of truth, which he’d been dreading ever since they’d agreed to go along with this ridiculous outing. Jughead remained resolutely at Betty’s side, wicking water out of his eyes with one hand and glaring.

Toni started to laugh in disbelief. “Holy fuck, Jug, do you know how to swim?”

It was her turn to receive the full nonverbal wrath of the young gang leader. Even Betty turned to look at him then, curiosity drawing up her brows. Caught, he drew in a deep breath to release some of his irritation.

“Not well,” he grumbled, hating that they’d made him admit it.

He could doggy paddle and kick around enough to keep himself from drowning, but he’d never learned how to glide through the water like Sweet Pea was doing to show off. It wasn’t completely his fault--the swimming sessions they were forced to go through in gym class were terrifying, especially since every girl in the school was likewise compelled to don bathing suits and participate. When Coach Clayton had been explaining how to do things like the breast stroke, Jughead had been the very definition of distracted. Honestly, how was he supposed to focus when the teacher was throwing around the word ‘breast’ and Betty was less than six feet away in nothing but spandex? He’d passed the class, but ultimately failed the swimming unit. Archie had teased him for weeks-- _Who gets a C in gym, Jughead?_ To which he’d replied, _The pen is mightier than the sword, Arch._

Plus, when had his parents ever done anything remotely outdoorsy with him? Not that it was up to them to teach him how to swim, but his dad was generally too preoccupied with his life of petty crime and alcoholism to do something like teach his son how to swim. He knew enough to make sure he wouldn’t drown in an emergency, and that was enough.

Sweet Pea was cracking up, gliding effortlessly back toward them. Betty broke away from Jughead’s encircling arm, looking up at him. “Come on, Jug, I’ll show you,” she said.

Again, it probably would have been a more successful effort if she hadn’t been completely naked, the temperature of the water making her perfect nipples harden in a way that erased every thought from his mind other than how it would feel to put his mouth on them. Still, Jughead watched her explain how to move his arms and kick his feet at the same time. As she demonstrated by suddenly gliding through the water herself, then coming effortlessly back to him, he ruefully admitted to himself that he would never be half as graceful at swimming as she was.

Once they’d gotten their fill of teasing him, Fangs pointed out the rope swing hanging over the surface of the lake, not far from where they’d left their clothes. The children of Riverdale’s Southside traditionally climbed onto the rock near the shore, holding the rope, then swung out over the water and plunged in. Now that was something that Jughead could handle, without a doubt. All three of the boys clambered out of the water, arguing about who could make the largest splash.

They found that entertaining for a while, until the girls named Sweet Pea the victor. In retaliation, Jughead swept his girlfriend off her feet and tossed her into the water himself. When she re-emerged, sputtering, she tackled him by launching herself at his chest.

Chilled through, it didn't take long before they all agreed to put an end to their voyeuristic adventure. Everyone climbed out of the water and toweled off, rolling their dry clothes over their goosebump-covered skin. Half-clad, Jughead and Fangs compared scars.

He was angling his shoulder to compare the fresh tissue with the starburst on the other boy's chest, and Sweet Pea was looking a little bit too long. “This is a contest you don’t need to win,” Toni remarked dryly.

Sweet Pea nodded ruefully. "Sorry, I was just thinking about how fucked up it was that both of you were in the hospital like that," he said, to apologize for his staring. 

Betty ran a finger over Jughead’s arm, biting her lip. “No more, Juggie,” she said softly in agreement, her eyes sad. He thought briefly of the nightmare he’d had in the hospital, when she’d stood over his grave. It went without saying that Jughead was going to avoid ever putting her in that position, as much as he could help it. Tugging his shirt over his head, he hid the reminder of their recent pain beneath the sun-warmed fabric. Their brushes with death had done something to the friendship between Fangs and Jughead. He felt like they understood each other without saying it, like they'd shared a basic truth that was too primal for words. As the girls continued to straighten their clothes and use cell phones to check their mascara for smudges, the guys sat down and leaned back against the log. Jughead let his head fall back and he closed his eyes, listening to Toni cheerfully observe that Betty's tattoo had healed well. Then the jeans were buttoned, the shirts were in place, and Betty was sitting down next to him.

Jughead put his arm around Betty’s shoulders, drawing her against his side and tucking her head below his chin. She snaked one arm around his waist in response, gently stroking her fingers along a bit of skin above the waist of his jeans. He glanced at the others, gauging how long it would be before he could take his girlfriend back to his tent and inspect her new tattoo more intimately.

“I hope the rest of the summer is just like this,” Betty said, her tone content.

With a short laugh, Cheryl leaned over to look at her from down the log. She tucked a lock of hair behind one ear and said, “In Riverdale, sweet cousin Betty? I doubt it.”

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm sorry if that felt like a random series of random things happening, but I did my best to smooth out all the ideas I had for this adventure. I can't decide if Jughead would be enthusiastic about working at the Register as a summer job, to help Betty keep the business going while Alice was at the Farm, or if they'd just let it sink into obscurity, since it's owned by Hiram now. Having been a journalist for a while, it's entirely possible for two people to produce an entire small-town newspaper, but it's a lot of work and running around town to rake up pictures and stories. I think Betty's been too busy to apply for another California internship.
> 
> Tomorrow's prompt gets decidedly steamy. Then I'll do something about these babies living in tents in the woods, I promise. There's just so much fun to be had when they're camping. :)


End file.
